Ron Scowcroft

Originally from Greater Manchester, Ron has lived in the Lancaster area since 1985. After a career in teaching and academic research he began writing poetry in 2006. He gained his PhD (JG Ballard and visual art) in 1997.

His poems have appeared in many literary magazines, prize winners’ anthologies and literary websites. They have also featured in exhibitions by artists Jayne Simpson and John Morrison and been adapted for video by Morph Films. His Pamphlet 'Moon Garden' was published by Wayleave Press in 2014.

He was awarded joint first prize in the McLellan Poetry Competition (2013) and has been highly commended in The Yorkshire Open (2012) and Magma (2011) competitions, as well as being longlisted in the National, Strokestown and Bridport competitions. Ron is a founder member of Lancaster based April Poets.

Moon Garden (Wayleave Press, 2014)

'Whether he’s writing about a sheepdog on the Falklands, a constellation or a colony of storks, Ron Scowcroft’s thoughtful and well-honed poems draw you back for futher reading. His practiced ear for just the right word enables him to make ordinary moments uncannily affecting, while also placing them adroitly in their wider context. A poet who never tells you too much but leaves you thinking.' Wayleave.

‘Scowcroft has a way with language that causes the ear and mind to take notice at once. He allows for no superfluous word to sit among the finely-hewn lines of each poem.’ Liz Bahs, The Frogmore Papers.

‘These are poems that do not splurge, gush or easily divulge their stories or emotions, but leave enough of a clue to hint at traumas hidden from view’ Richie McCaffery, londongrip.

The Middle Ages in the Modern World (MAMO) conference at Manchester University, Friday, 30th June 11.00 am to 12.30 am. A discussion of my poem 'Bitter at the George' - modern interpretations of the myth of Saint George - with Sam Riches of Lancaster University and Huw Grange of Oxford University.